Schooner Foundation

Private foundation · EIN 04-3347626 · since 1997schoonercapital.com/the-foundation·International, United States·Updated 13 October 2026

At a glance

$19.4M

Annual giving, 2024 tax year

From the Form 990-PF filing

$5,000 to $250k

Grant range

From grants in the 990-PF filings

$90,000

Typical grant (median)

129 grants in the latest filing

Invitation only

Unsolicited applications are not accepted

This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.

Key takeaways

Schooner Foundation funds human rights and social justice, global health equity, education and economic empowerment, and the environment, so only approach if your work sits clearly within one of these areas.
Its stated geographic focus is domestically and internationally, so this is not restricted to a particular place.
Crucially, it accepts proposals by invitation only and does not take unsolicited requests, so a small nonprofit cannot simply write in cold; any approach needs to come through an existing connection or relationship.
About 8 in 10 of its grants fall between $5,000 and $250,000, with a median of $50,000, so a modest request in that range is realistic, though it has made grants as large as $2,000,000.
The high share of grant dollars going to previously funded organisations suggests this is a relationship-led funder that favours continuity, so new, unconnected applicants should not expect an easy route in.

Overview

Schooner Foundation is a US private foundation based in Boston, MA.

What they fund

Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.

Priority Areas

The Schooner Foundation seeks to advance human rights by using funds, partnerships and resources where need and opportunity are greatest, both domestically and internationally. It grounds this work in the right to a life with dignity, opportunity and access to resources. Its stated areas are human rights and social justice, global health equity, education and economic empowerment, and the environment. Across those areas, it invests in solutions it describes as equitable, replicable and scalable. Proposals are accepted by invitation only. The foundation’s stated approach therefore combines a rights-based aim with solutions intended to be equitable and capable of replication and scale.

Themes

Human rights
Social justice
Global health equity
Education and economic empowerment
Environment

Geographic Focus

Priority: Domestically; internationally.

How to apply

Proposals are accepted by invitation only.

Application success factors

Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 77% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 362 grants to organisations were $50,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

The foundation prioritises work where need and opportunity are greatest, domestically and internationally.
It invests in equitable, replicable and scalable solutions.

Where grants go

From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.

Grant dollars by state

Massachusetts27%

New York17%

District of Columbia11%

Maryland11%

Virginia7%

California6%

6 other states: 16%

Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 5%

The largest single recipient received 11% of grant dollars to organisations.
In tax year 2024, 77% of grant dollars went to organisations Schooner Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
11% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.

Grants

129 grants in the latest filing analysed · median $90,000

How much do they typically give?

Share of 129 grants in tax year 2024 by size

$1k–$2.5k5%

$2.5k–$5k2%

$5k–$10k9%

$10k–$25k12%

$25k–$50k5%

$50k–$100k17%

$100k–$250k30%

$250k–$500k12%

$500k–$1M4%

$1M and over3%

Median $90,000 (tax year 2024)

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

NAACP · Building Community Voices Fund
$2,000,0002024 tax year
NAACP · Building Community Voices Fund
$1,500,0002024 tax year
Nature Conservancy · Leveraging our Lands
$1,350,0002024 tax year
Boston University · Boston University Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health
$1,000,0002024 tax year
Brigham and Women's Hospital · Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, Distinguished Chair
$625,0002024 tax year
Here Right Matters Foundation · General Operations
$590,0002024 tax year
Boston University · Center for Forced Displacement
$500,0002024 tax year
Brigham and Women's Hospital · Hiatt Residency
$500,0002024 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

Officers and directors

Carla E Meyer — Trustee
Cynthia A Ryan — Trustee / Director
Jennifer Ryan — Trustee
Jonathan Corbett — Treasurer
Julia B Pettengill — Executive Director
Kimberly R Dano — Trustee
Nicholas L Ryan — Trustee
Stephanie R Ditenhafer — Trustee
Stephen D Maiocco — Trustee
Vincent J Ryan — Trustee

From the latest Form 990-PF filing

3 years of tax filings

Year	Total expenses	Grants paid	Assets	Filing document
2022 tax year	$10,497,010	$8,333,213	$195,803,404	Filing for 2022 tax year
2023 tax year	$12,232,922	$9,646,986	$248,732,681	Filing for 2023 tax year
2024 tax year	$27,723,664	$19,435,798	$253,702,589	Filing for 2024 tax year

Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.